Transcript
The artisan cheese industry has grown significantly over the past decade. We've gone from about 3 to having 26 today. So our role at OSU is to, first of all, put on classes for the cheese makers. We bring in international cheese makers, mostly out of Europe, who work with the cheese makers here and help them make better cheeses. We serve as a business incubator. People who want to start up an artisan cheese company can come in and make cheese here at the OSU creamery because we have a licensed facility. They can make cheese and sell the cheese about a year prior to them having to have their own facility up and running.
If OSU hadn't been there to help us get started, I wouldn't of tried. [laughing] I think the research that OSU is doing and putting together a cheese plant is important to help other people get started and to help the cheese makers that are out there. I think we all benefit from that. It increases the knowledge of all of us and it's going to get other cheese makers started, and increase the diversity of cheeses in Oregon. We already win a lot of awards in the contests and I think that's just going to keep getting better and better and it's going to put us out there as a cheese destination.
The artisan cheese makers are putting a new and exciting face to what 'made in Oregon' means when it comes to dairy. So we have tremendously high quality cheeses and that's not just the small artisans, it goes all the way up to Tillamook cheese as well.
I think the Oregon economy benefits from cheese research. It's definitely a big agricultural state. Agriculture is a huge part of our economy so the more we can use those resources and make a value out of product like this I think it definitely benefits the economy and also the tourism draw as well.
I think the artisan cheese movement is very important to everybody in Oregon. It's really a celebration of food because truly we make great cheese in Oregon.
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Lisbeth Goddik, the dairy processing specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, provides training for all levels of artisan cheese makers, including assistance with improvements in product quality, shelf-life and safety. She consults closely with them to solve specific challenges, and she serves as a technical liaison with the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division. Establishment of an artisan cheese industry gives dairy producers the opportunity to earn greater returns for specialty products they make on their farms.
